Closer

Lyrics

The last customer's gone.
The streetlights flicker on outside.
Just the low, friendly hum of the old glass cooler.
My hand feels the cool of the glass on the big front door.
I reach for the sign, the one my father painted.
Flip the little cardboard letters from OPEN to CLOSED.
It swings on its faded red string.
Another day is carefully put away on the shelf.
The dust motes dance in the last long beam of sun.
And I can finally breathe it all the way in.
Oh, I'm getting closer now.
Everything finding its right place.
I'm getting closer now.
To that final, quiet space.
Just a little bit closer to the end of the line.
And everything feels just fine.
The cleaning rag is damp with the clean scent of pine.
I wipe down the worn wooden counter, long and slow strokes.
Past the penny candy jar and the stack of local papers.
I straighten the tins of Earl Grey tea from 1993.
Push the heavy oak chairs in, one by one by one.
Every little familiar thing, until the work is done.
It's a rhythm that I know deep in my bones.
Oh, I'm getting closer now.
Everything finding its right place.
I'm getting closer now.
To that final, quiet space.
Just a little bit closer to the end of the line.
And everything feels just fine.
I count out the register drawer.
The worn, soft paper and the heavy, cool silver.
Wrap the day's earnings up tight in the canvas bag.
Through the front window, the world is dark and deep.
The streetlights are making halos in the evening mist.
Soon I'll be walking home.
Soon this will all be just a warm memory of the day.
The final turn. The final motion.
The heavy brass key is warm in my palm.
I pull the big door until I hear that solid click.
It’s all over now.
Completely finished.